Vanessa Lachey: How I Told Nick I Was Pregnant

Courtesy of the Lacheys

After their destination wedding on the beaches of Necker Island in 2011, newlyweds Nick and Vanessa Lachey were ready to begin making good on the promise of a brood of babies.

But six months into trying to get pregnant, Vanessa was ready to call it quits — at least temporarily — to allow nature to take its course.

“Honestly, by mid-December, I resigned myself to the notion that it was not going to be easy for us,” she writes on her new website. “So, I decided that I had to just ‘let go.’”

Spending time settling into their new Los Angeles home while the couple wrapped up projects — Vanessa was busy filming Wipeout — the pair first planned a family trip to the Bahamas for a chance to unwind.

“Before we could relax and soak in the sun, I had to film [an] appearance and would meet everyone in the Bahamas the next day,” Vanessa explains.

After work, the actress headed out to celebrate a friend’s birthday — where telltale signs of pending parenthood suddenly began to pop up.

“I wanted absolutely everything on the menu! I also remember NOT wanting my martini,” she recalls. “After dinner something in my gut said, ‘Let’s go back to the hotel … and pick up a pregnancy test on the way!’”

Proving a mother knows best, it was positive — only to be confirmed by a big batch of follow-up tests. “I was in absolute shock! I had taken a pregnancy test multiple times every month over the past six months, but this one (and the nine others I took that night) was positive,” Vanessa writes. “It was such a beautiful moment. The only thing missing was my husband, of course.”

But with Nick waiting for his wife in the Bahamas, the mom-to-be managed to contain her excitement, keeping mum until she could spill the beans in person.

“I wanted to look into his eyes when I said, ‘I’m pregnant,’” she shares. “I wanted to feel his hug when he grabbed me with excitement. I wanted to take in the surroundings so that I would always remember the exact moment I told him he was going to be a father.”

Following “the longest night I can remember,” Vanessa began the trek to the Bahamas — a journey that “seemed like an absolute eternity!” — to join Nick. Once she arrived, the expectant star quickly settled in and headed with her husband for a seaside stroll.

“All I kept thinking about was this little life inside of me that WE made. He was growing and we were going to become a family,” she says. “At that moment everything in me felt so right. I was bursting with emotion and wanting to tell Nick the good news.”

Vanessa was finally ready to break the news to the unknowing dad-to-be – a moment she will remember forever. “I took a deep breath, grabbed his hands, looked him in the eyes and told him, ‘I’M PREGNANT!” she writes.

“He looked at me and asked if I was serious. I said yes, we hugged and then he said, ‘I think I have to sit down!’ That was Jan. 6, 2012.”

Now the proud parents of son Camden John, 4 months, the tight knit trio revisited the same spot where Nick and Vanessa shared the sweet moment exactly one year later, a special anniversary caught on tape.

“We will always have that memory together and now Cam will have one, too,” the new mom shares. ”I took this video that I will embarrass him with in the future, and I’m happy to share a piece of it with you.”

– Anya Leon

For more exclusive content from Vanessa Lachey, visit her newly-launched website.

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Penalty could keep smokers out of health overhaul

WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of smokers could be priced out of health insurance because of tobacco penalties in President Barack Obama's health care law, according to experts who are just now teasing out the potential impact of a little-noted provision in the massive legislation.

The Affordable Care Act — "Obamacare" to its detractors — allows health insurers to charge smokers buying individual policies up to 50 percent higher premiums starting next Jan. 1.

For a 55-year-old smoker, the penalty could reach nearly $4,250 a year. A 60-year-old could wind up paying nearly $5,100 on top of premiums.

Younger smokers could be charged lower penalties under rules proposed last fall by the Obama administration. But older smokers could face a heavy hit on their household budgets at a time in life when smoking-related illnesses tend to emerge.

Workers covered on the job would be able to avoid tobacco penalties by joining smoking cessation programs, because employer plans operate under different rules. But experts say that option is not guaranteed to smokers trying to purchase coverage individually.

Nearly one of every five U.S. adults smokes. That share is higher among lower-income people, who also are more likely to work in jobs that don't come with health insurance and would therefore depend on the new federal health care law. Smoking increases the risk of developing heart disease, lung problems and cancer, contributing to nearly 450,000 deaths a year.

Insurers won't be allowed to charge more under the overhaul for people who are overweight, or have a health condition like a bad back or a heart that skips beats — but they can charge more if a person smokes.

Starting next Jan. 1, the federal health care law will make it possible for people who can't get coverage now to buy private policies, providing tax credits to keep the premiums affordable. Although the law prohibits insurance companies from turning away the sick, the penalties for smokers could have the same effect in many cases, keeping out potentially costly patients.

"We don't want to create barriers for people to get health care coverage," said California state Assemblyman Richard Pan, who is working on a law in his state that would limit insurers' ability to charge smokers more. The federal law allows states to limit or change the smoking penalty.

"We want people who are smoking to get smoking cessation treatment," added Pan, a pediatrician who represents the Sacramento area.

Obama administration officials declined to be interviewed for this article, but a former consumer protection regulator for the government is raising questions.

"If you are an insurer and there is a group of smokers you don't want in your pool, the ones you really don't want are the ones who have been smoking for 20 or 30 years," said Karen Pollitz, an expert on individual health insurance markets with the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. "You would have the flexibility to discourage them."

Several provisions in the federal health care law work together to leave older smokers with a bleak set of financial options, said Pollitz, formerly deputy director of the Office of Consumer Support in the federal Health and Human Services Department.

First, the law allows insurers to charge older adults up to three times as much as their youngest customers.

Second, the law allows insurers to levy the full 50 percent penalty on older smokers while charging less to younger ones.

And finally, government tax credits that will be available to help pay premiums cannot be used to offset the cost of penalties for smokers.

Here's how the math would work:

Take a hypothetical 60-year-old smoker making $35,000 a year. Estimated premiums for coverage in the new private health insurance markets under Obama's law would total $10,172. That person would be eligible for a tax credit that brings the cost down to $3,325.

But the smoking penalty could add $5,086 to the cost. And since federal tax credits can't be used to offset the penalty, the smoker's total cost for health insurance would be $8,411, or 24 percent of income. That's considered unaffordable under the federal law. The numbers were estimated using the online Kaiser Health Reform Subsidy Calculator.

"The effect of the smoking (penalty) allowed under the law would be that lower-income smokers could not afford health insurance," said Richard Curtis, president of the Institute for Health Policy Solutions, a nonpartisan research group that called attention to the issue with a study about the potential impact in California.

In today's world, insurers can simply turn down a smoker. Under Obama's overhaul, would they actually charge the full 50 percent? After all, workplace anti-smoking programs that use penalties usually charge far less, maybe $75 or $100 a month.

Robert Laszewski, a consultant who previously worked in the insurance industry, says there's a good reason to charge the maximum.

"If you don't charge the 50 percent, your competitor is going to do it, and you are going to get a disproportionate share of the less-healthy older smokers," said Laszewski. "They are going to have to play defense."

___

Online:

Kaiser Health Reform Subsidy Calculator — http://healthreform.kff.org/subsidycalculator.aspx

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Palmdale woman accused of torturing her children

Neighbors of a Palmdale woman charged with assaulting and torturing two of her children said Thursday that they never even realized she had kids.

The siblings — a boy, 8, and girl, 7 — did not play outside and were rarely seen, said Cynthia Otero, who runs a day care center at a home opposite the house in the 39000 block of Clear View Court where Ingrid Brewer is alleged to have mistreated the youngsters.

Otero said that when she recently spotted the children getting out of a car, she thought Brewer, 50, "might be baby-sitting."

So neighbors in the suburban cul-de-sac were the more shocked when word spread that Brewer was arrested on suspicion of crimes against her children, she said. Brewer is being charged with eight felony counts, including torture, assault with a deadly weapon and cruelty to a child.

According to authorities, Brewer reported the children missing Jan. 15, prompting a search by deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Palmdale Station. The youngsters were found hours later hiding under a blanket near a parked car on a street close to their home. They were without winter clothes in 20-degree weather, authorities said.

Sgt. Brian Hudson, a spokesman for the sheriff's Special Victims Bureau, said the children told investigators they ran away because Brewer deprived them of food, locked them in separate bedrooms when she went to work each day, bound their hands behind their backs with zip ties and beat them with electrical cords and a hammer. The youngsters also said that when they were locked in the bedrooms and needed to use the bathroom, they instead had to use wastebaskets, Hudson said.

They fled because "they were tired of being tied up and beaten," Hudson said.

Hudson said both children had injuries consistent with the alleged abuse, including marks on their wrists indicating they had been restrained and "numerous bruising and abrasions over their bodies." They told investigators the mistreatment had been happening since Halloween.

Neighbors interviewed by authorities said they had never noticed anything suspicious but "hardly ever saw the two children," Hudson said. Otero and another neighbor said Brewer did not make friends on the block.

Otero said Brewer was "unfriendly" and typically ignored verbal greetings and waves.

According to sheriff's officials, Brewer, a certified nursing assistant who works in Los Angeles and has adult children, adopted the young siblings about a year ago from foster care. They were home schooled.

Neil Zanville, a spokesman for the county Department of Children and Family Services, said his agency was legally prohibited from disclosing any case-specific information about past or present clients. But in a written statement, the agency's director, Philip Browning, called the report disturbing.

"While we cannot confirm or deny whether this family is under our supervision, I am personally looking into this situation to determine what role, if any, our department had in these children's lives," Browning said.

Sheriff's officials said Thursday that the children were "doing great" despite their injuries.

Otero lamented that they had been made to suffer.

"It's just so sad," said the neighbor, who has a 5-year-old daughter and 8-year-old twins. "I wish they would have knocked on my door. I would have helped them."

Brewer is in the custody of the Sheriff's Department, with bail set at $2 million. She is scheduled to appear in court Thursday, Hudson said.

ann.simmons@latimes.com

Times staff writer Kate Mather contributed to this report.

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IHT Rendezvous: Save a Tree, Use Real Cork

ESTREMOZ, Portugal— I had always thought plastic wine corks and screw caps were tacky, but now I have a good reason for avoiding them.

Buying wine with real corks helps preserve the cork forests of Portugal and the wider western Mediterranean, which are, it turns out, ecological marvels. I write about the discovery, on a recent trip to Portugal, in my latest Green column.

Cork oaks and their scrubby cousins, holm oaks, are well adapted to the hot dry summers of the region. They help prevent these places from turning into deserts. Their stands are rich in plants and — when the farmers restrain themselves from shooting everything in sight — animals, especially birds.

What’s unique about cork is that the thick bark can be harvested from the trees without cutting them down. A skilled crew hacks the bark off with axes. If done right, it grows back. You can see the process in this introduction to cork forests by Luisa Nunes and Carlos Reis:

So the cork oaks form the basis of a sustainable industry that has existed for centuries. The cork is harvested every summer for wine stoppers and other uses. The trees don’t need fertilizer. They are hard not to love.

Synthetic corks are the enemy of this ecologist’s heaven. They have slashed the world market share of real cork by perhaps 20 percent in the last decade, according to Wine Intelligence, a London research concern. That has brought down prices, reducing incentives to grow and maintain cork groves.

One needs a lot of patience and dedication to grow cork. The trees can only be harvested every decade or so and require years—some people say up to 50—from the time they are originally planted to when they can be first harvested. You are doing it for your grandchildren or for the ecosystem, and that is not always an easy sell in the 21st century.

Fortunately, cork trees are protected in Portugal, the leading producer.

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Sony fined in UK over PlayStation cyberattack

LONDON (AP) — British regulators have fined Sony 250,000 pounds ($ 396,100) for failing to prevent a 2011 cyberattack on its PlayStation Network which put millions of users’ personal information — including names, addresses, birth dates and account passwords — at risk.

Britain’s Information Commissioner’s Office said Thursday that security measures in place at the time “were simply not good enough.” It said the attack could have been prevented if software had been up to date, while passwords were also not secure.

David Smith, deputy commissioner and director of data protection, acknowledged that the fine for a “serious breach of the Data Protection Act” was “clearly substantial” but said that the office makes “no apologies” for that.

“There’s no disguising that this is a business that should have known better,” he said in a statement. “It is a company that trades on its technical expertise, and there’s no doubt in my mind that they had access to both the technical knowledge and the resources to keep this information safe.”

Smith called the case “one of the most serious ever reported” to the data regulator.

Sony, which has previously apologized for the data breach, said Thursday it “strongly disagrees” with the ruling and plans to appeal.

David Wilson, a spokesman for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd., said the company noted that the ICO recognized that Sony was the victim of a criminal attack and that there is no evidence payment card details were accessed.

“Criminal attacks on electronic networks are a real and growing aspect of 21st century life and Sony continually works to strengthen our systems, building in multiple layers of defense and working to make our networks safe, secure and resilient,” he said in a statement.

————————

Cassandra Vinograd can be reached at http://twitter.com/CassVinograd

Gaming News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Style Rx: Julianne Hough’s Almost-There Outfit

Stylewatch
Style News Now

01/22/2013 at 06:00 PM ET

O’Neill/White/INF

Who: Julianne Hough

Where: A visit to Toronto’s Much Music studios to promote her film Safe Haven

Diagnosis: We love Hough’s fun approach to fashion, but it’s time to get serious about her ongoing string of not-quite-there outfits. The ensemble at left suffers from overstyling, identity confusion and stumpifying booties.

Prescription: Keep the Ann Taylor jacket but ditch the prissy lace-collared blouse for a less fussy sheer white tee. We get where you were going with the Asos shorts, but think this sleek print pencil skirt would look way more chic and flattering. Then take two classic black pumps and call us in the morning.

Tell us: How would you cure Julianne Hough’s ensemble?

–Alex Apatoff

PHOTOS: SEE MORE QUESTIONABLE OUTFITS HERE, THEN VOTE: OBSESSED OR HOT MESS?

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California bills target false 911 calls in 'swatting' cases

SACRAMENTO — Alarmed that pranksters have called 911 to report false emergencies at the homes of celebrities including Justin Bieber and Tom Cruise, two Southern California legislators have proposed laws to get tougher with anyone engaged in "swatting."

A bill announced Wednesday by state Sen. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) would allow longer sentences for and greater restitution from those convicted of making false reports to the police. Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca asked for the measure.

A similar proposal has been introduced by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles).

"The recent spate of phony reports to law enforcement officials that the home of an actor or singer is being robbed or held hostage is dangerous, and it's only a matter of time before there's a tragic accident," said Lieu.

On Monday, someone called police with a false report of domestic violence and a possible shooting at the Hollywood Hills home of singer Chris Brown, who was not there at the time.

Last week, a report of shots fired sent a Beverly Hills police SWAT team to surround the home of actor Tom Cruise.

Also last week, a 12-year-old boy was charged with making false threats about supposed incidents at the homes of Bieber and actor Ashton Kutcher.

Others believed to have been targets of swatting incidents in the last year include "The X Factor" judge Simon Cowell, singer Miley Cyrus and the Kardashian-Jenner family.

Baca asked Lieu to introduce a bill "because this phenomenon is increasingly becoming more of a challenge," said Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the sheriff. "He believes increasing the penalties, including increased jail time and financial responsibility, will bring this serious, albeit new, crime to the forefront, exactly where it belongs."

Gatto and Lieu both propose that those convicted of making false 911 reports be liable for all costs associated with the police response. Such pranks are "a complete waste of law enforcement resources," said Gatto.

The Assemblyman's measure, AB 47, would also increase the maximum fine for conviction from $1,000 to $10,000 and make it easier to file murder charges if someone is killed in a swatting incident.

Existing penalties for false 911 reports include up to one year in jail, but an offender may get probation with no jail time. Lieu, a military reserve prosecutor, wants to set a minimum sentence of 120 days in jail.

Lieu's proposal also would make it easier to charge someone with a felony if a victim is hurt as a result of a prank call. In felony cases, the penalty could increase to three years in jail. And prosecutors would no longer have to show that the prankster knew injury or death would occur.

Both bills would apply to incidents involving anyone in California, not just celebrities. But the Legislature has drawn criticism in the past for measures intended primarily to protect the famous.

In 2009 and 2010, the Legislature and then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger approved laws restricting paparazzi, including one that stiffened penalties for those caught driving recklessly or blocking sidewalks to photograph celebrities.

patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com

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India Ink: Pocket Guide to the Jaipur Literature Festival

India Ink asked writers, publishers, literary agents and fans of the five-day Jaipur Literature Festival what events they are most looking forward to this year. Here are their responses:

Samanth Subramanian, the Indian correspondent for The National and the author of “Following Fish: Travels around the Indian Coast.”

Friday, January 25

10 a.m.-11 a.m.: “The Writer and the State” — Ariel Dorfman, Frank Dikotter, Ian Buruma, Selma Dabbagh and Sudeep Chakravarti in conversation with Timothy Garton Ash

I once directed a play written by Ariel Dorfman, which was relentless in probing issues of guilt and revenge. Ian Buruma’s “The Wages of Guilt” was my first model for the book I’m currently working on. I’m very keen to hear what they both have to say about the state and its relationship to art.

12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m.: “What is a Classic?” — Anish Kapoor, Elif Batuman, Tom Holland, Christopher Ricks and Ashok Vajpeyi in conversation with Homi Bhabha

A wonderfully multidisciplinary panel, featuring a sculptor, a nonfiction writer, a poet, a literary critic and a literary theorist, all putting their minds to answer a question as old as time.

Sunday, January 27

10 a.m.-11 a.m.: “The Global Soul and the Search for Home” — Pico Iyer, Abraham Verghese, Laleh Khadivi, Akash Kapur and Sadakat Kadri, moderated by Aminatta Forna

My favorite book of 2012 was Pico Iyer’s “The Man Within My Head,” and I’m always interested in the animating question of our restless age: if we are everywhere at once, where do we belong?

Namita Devidayal, journalist with The Times of India and author of “The Music Room” and “After Taste”

Thursday, January 24

12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m.: “The Man Within My Head” — Pico Iyer in conversation with Akash Kapur

Where Pico Iyer unravels the mysterious closeness he has always felt with the writer Graham Greene – their old-school education and their lifelong restlessness. I am an enormous fan of both writers. In this session, Pico Iyer talks to Akash Kapur on how literature can impact the reader’s inner life.

2:15 p.m.-3:15 p.m: “Kinships of Faiths: Finding the Middle Way” — the Dalai Lama in conversation with Pico Iyer

The eternally inspiring and loving Dalai Lama in conversation with Pico Iyer, his friend and biographer.

3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.: “Cutting for Stone” — Abraham Verghese in conversation with Rick Simonson

Abraham Verghese, whose memoir “My Own Country” had a profound impact on me, talks about his life between writing and medicine.

Besides these, I am always excited about my two favorite evening events — the Random House party and the Penguin party.

Priyanka Malhotra, chief executive of Full Circle, official book partner for Jaipur Literary Festival

We have been coming to the festival for the last four years, and this year there are more authors attending the festival than ever before. Some authors that I’m looking forward to hearing are Pico Iyer, Victor Chan, Ranjini Obeyesekere, Mahasweta Devi, Ambai, Elif Batuman and so many more.

Friday, January 25

6 p.m.-7 p.m.: “The Jewish Novel” — Linda Grant, Howard Jacobson, Gary Shteyngart and Andrew Solomon moderated by Jonathan Shainin

Saturday, January 26

10 a.m.-11 a.m.: “Republic of Ideas” — Patrick French, Ashis Nandy, Ashutosh, Tarun Tejpal and Richard Sorabji in conversation with Urvashi Butalia

Monday, January 28

3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.: “The Art of Historical Fiction” — Linda Grant, Madeline Miller, Philip Hensher, Lawrence Norfolk in conversation with Jeet Thayil

Mita Kapur, chief executive of Siyahi, a literary agency

Thursday, January 24

11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: “The Global Shakespeare: — Christopher Ricks, Tim Supple, Elif Batuman, Chandrahas Choudhury and Anjum Hasan, moderated by Supriya Nair

2:15 p.m.-3:15 p.m.: “Beyond the Khyber: The Future of Afghanistan” — Edward Girardet, Jason Burke, Lucy Morgan Edwards, moderated by Faisal Devji

5 p.m.-6 p.m: “Colliding Worlds: The Quest for Justice” — Binayak Sen, Ilina Sen, Harsh Mander and Rohini Nilekani in conversation with Surina Narula

6 p.m.-7 p.m: “The Novel of the Future” — Mohammed Hanif, Howard Jacobson, Nadeem Aslam, Linda Grant, Lawrence Norfolk and Zoe Heller in conversation with Anita Anand

Friday, January 25

11: 15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: “Laughing, Weeping, Writing” — Manu Joseph, Mohammed Hanif, Gary Shteyngart and Deborah Moggach in conversation with Ashok Ferrey

12:30 p.m.-1:30pm: “What is a Classic?” Anish Kapoor, Elif Batuman, Tom Holland, Christopher Ricks and Ashok Vajpeyi in conversation with Homi Bhabha

Chiki Sarkar, publisher of Penguin Books India

Each year, I make sure we launch one debut writer for Jaipur Lit Fest. This year it’s a brilliant young writer called Anjan Sunderam, who everyone from Pico Iyer to Pankaj Mishra has been raving about. He’s been hailed as a young Kapuscinski and his book, “Stringer,” is about a year and a half he spent in Congo. He’ll be at a few events, and I’ll be his loyal groupie.

Saturday, January 26

3:30pm-4:30 p.m.: “Out of Africa” — Aminatta Forna, Anjan Sundaram and Mary Harper in conversation with Kwasi Kwarteng

Sunday, January 27

12:30pm- 1.30pm: ‘Dispatches’ Anjan Sundaram, Jason Burke, Lucy Morgan Edwards and Edward Girardet in conversation with Madhu Trehan

I’m a great admirer of Elif Batuman’s writing for The New Yorker and am currently reading and loving her marvelous book on Russian literature called “The Possessed.” It combines erudition, passion and also wit, charm and quirkiness – not qualities you usually associate with a book of literary essays. I can’t wait to see what she’s like on stage.

Thursday, January 24

11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: “The Global Shakespeare” — Christopher Ricks, Tim Supple, Elif Batuman, Chandrahas Choudhury and Anjum Hasan, moderated by Supriya Nair

Friday, January 25

12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m: “What is a Classic?’ Anish Kapoor, Elif Batuman, Tom Holland, Christopher Ricks and Ashok Vajpeyi in conversation with Homi Bhabha

Sunday, January 27

10 a.m.-11 a.m.: “Natasha’s Dance: Adventures with Russian Books” — Orlando Figes and Elif Batuman in conversation with John Kampfner

When I looked through the program, my eye was immediately caught by the James Bond session. I love the Bond books and spent a summer reading them all and am really looking forward to this one.

Friday, January 25

12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m.: “007: Ian Fleming and the Making of James Bond” — Andrew Lycett and Sebastian Faulks introduced by Zac O’Yeah

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Google’s 4Q earnings rise despite Motorola woes

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google eked out slightly higher earnings in the fourth quarter, despite a financial drag caused by the Internet search leader’s expansion into device manufacturing and a decline in digital ad prices as more people gaze into the smaller screens of smartphones.

The results announced Tuesday pleased investors, helping to lift Google’s stock by 5 percent in extended trading.

More advertising poured into Google during the holiday shopping season, fueling a moneymaking machine that has steadily churned out higher profits since the company went public in 2004. Google’s fourth-quarter ad revenue totaled $ 12.1 billion, a 19 percent increase from the previous year.

Some of that money, though, has been shifting away from personal computers as advertisers try to connect with an expanding audience that relies on smartphones and tablet computers to reach Google’s search engine, email and other online services. By some estimates, about one-fourth of the clicks on Google’s search ads are now coming from mobile devices.

So far, advertisers have been unwilling to pay as much money to market their wares on mobile devices, largely because the smaller screens leave less room for commercial links and other marketing messages. The trend is one of the reasons that the average price for the ads that Google shows next to its search results has fallen from the previous year in five consecutive quarters, including the final three months of last year.

In a positive sign, though, Google’s average ad prices in the most recent quarter dropped by just 6 percent from the same period in 2011. That’s the smallest decline during the pricing downturn, raising hopes that Google may be starting to solve the pricing problems posed by the growing usage of mobile devices.

In a conference call Tuesday, Google CEO Larry Page predicted ad prices will gradually rise as the devices become even more sophisticated to unleash new ways to reach potential customers at the times they are most likely to buy something.

“In today’s multi-screen world, the opportunities are endless,” Page said.

Google earned nearly $ 2.9 billion, or $ 8.62 per share, during the fourth quarter. That compared to net income of $ 2.7 billion, or $ 8.22 per share, at the same time last year.

If not for the costs of employee stock compensation and certain other accounting items, Google said it would have earned $ 10.65 per share. On that basis, Google exceeded the average earnings estimate of $ 10.54 among analysts surveyed by FactSet.

It proved to be a difficult quarter to decipher because of an accounting quirk and the additions of new business lines that muddied the comparisons with the previous year.

For instance, Google Inc. didn’t own Motorola Mobility in 2011, having completed its $ 12.4 billion acquisition of the troubled handset maker eight months ago. What’s more, the Google is bringing in more revenue from tablet computers, which it began selling under the Nexus brand during the final half of last year.

Things were further complicated by Google’s recent agreement to sell a part of the Motorola Mobility division that makes cable TV boxes. That division is now accounted for as a discontinued operation whose revenue wasn’t booked in the latest quarter, even though it will remain a part of Google until the $ 2.35 billion sale is completed later this year.

Under that equation, revenue surged 36 percent from the previous year to $ 14.4 billion.

After subtracting advertising expenses, Google’s revenue totaled $ 11.3 billion. That figure was well below the average analyst estimate of $ 12.1 billion, according to FactSet.

But many of the analyst forecasts included revenue from Motorola Mobility’s set-top division, which Google excluded from its breakdown. Had the set-top division been included in Google’s accounting, the company’s net revenue would have matched analyst estimates.

The performance boosted Google’s stock by $ 35.33 to $ 738.20 in Tuesday’s extended trading.

Google would be doing even better if not for problems at Motorola Mobility, a cellphone pioneer that has been struggling since Apple revolutionized the industry with the release of the iPhone in 2007.

Motorola Mobility suffered an operating loss of $ 353 million on revenue of $ 1.5 billion in the fourth quarter

Google has been able to offset the slump in its search advertising prices by selling more video advertising on its YouTube subsidiary and other more graphical forms of marketing. The number of clicks on Google ads has still been rising, too. That’s important because the company typically gets paid by the click. In the fourth quarter, Google’s total ad clicks rose 24 percent from the previous year.

To gain a foothold in the mobile market, Google bakes its services into its Android software, an operating system that it gives away to makers of smartphones and tablets.

Android is now powers more than 500 million mobile devices worldwide, giving it a wide lead over Apple’s software for iPhones and iPads. Through September, Apple had shipped about 370 million iPhones and iPads. Apple Inc., which has morphed from a Google ally to bigger rival in the past five years, is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter results after the stock market closes Wednesday.

Google, which is based in Mountain View, Calif., didn’t update how many more Android devices were activated in the fourth quarter..

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Paula Deen: How My Whole Family Got Fit!

By Liza Hamm

01/23/2013 at 07:45 AM EST

Paula Deen is the first one to admit: "When I first found out I was diabetic, I had no solutions. I couldn’t even help myself, much less somebody else." 

Now – one year after she announced her Type 2 diabetes diagnosis to a mix of criticism and support – Deen is not only showcasing how she trimmed off 40 lbs. 

In this week's issue, the 66-year-old Food Network star invited PEOPLE into her Savannah home to share how her family members adopted different weight loss strategies and lost an astounding 178 lbs. total.

By figuring out a diet plan that works for their particular schedule and lifestyle, Deen's husband Michael Groover shed 60 lbs., her oldest son Jamie got rid of an excess 45 lbs., and her youngest son Bobby maintained his 33-lb. loss.

But no one sacrificed their love of Southern food. Instead they learned to stick to Deen's new mantra. "Moderation, moderation, moderation," says Deen, whose new cookbook The New Testament due out this fall will include her go-to recipes and tips. "I love feeding people but now I also want to help people eat right."

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